Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

"Hephaestus-dono, the red, blue, and green stones have all been polished."

The territory of the Hephaestus Familia was on par with that of the Loki Familia. As a production-focused group, Hephaestus Familia was one of the few incredibly wealthy Familias in all of Orario.

After receiving the order, Tsubaki immediately instructed her people to prepare the materials.

The red, blue, and green stones were just ores from the upper floors—minerals with little use but some value.

Yet Hephaestus had ordered these nearly useless ores to be polished and made uniform in size.

Tsubaki couldn't help but feel curious about the reason behind it.

"Hephaestus-dono, these ores can't be used for forging, right? Even if we were selling them... we wouldn't use such cheap materials to make accessories, would we?"

"It's just a special request."

Hephaestus tossed a stone to Tsubaki.

"Tsubaki, crush this stone and see what you feel."

Though puzzled, Tsubaki still crushed the stone in her hand.

"!?"

A sudden surge of power erupted from within her.

As a Level 5 smith, Tsubaki wasn't just good at forging—she was also skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Since blacksmiths had to personally test the weapons they created before selling them, Tsubaki was very familiar with the changes in her own body. The abrupt boost in strength gave her quite a scare.

"Hephaestus-dono, what just happened? Why did my stats suddenly spike like that?"

"How does it feel?"

Rather than answering, Hephaestus asked her about her reaction.

Tsubaki paused, examining her physical state carefully, and realized she felt better than ever.

"It feels great, but the strength increase is too much—I can't control it properly."

The sudden jump in her physical stats had major consequences. Most notably, she could no longer control her strength like before due to the drastic rise in her 'attributes.'

"Aside from not being able to manage my strength, everything else is positive."

"Hephaestus-dono, this stone that boosts stats... is this some kind of enchantment?"

"But isn't that jump a little too extreme?"

As a seasoned blacksmith in Orario, she wasn't inexperienced.

The spike in her 'attributes' right after crushing the stone clearly meant it was a type of buff magic.

Orario had its fair share of people who could use such enhancement magic, but none of them could produce such dramatic increases.

"It's exactly because the increase is so abnormal that it's such a valuable deal."

Hephaestus was fully aware how unnatural the boost was. Just like sharpening a weapon yields clear results, this type of enhancement effect had no subtlety at all.

...

Tsubaki quickly caught on to why Hephaestus-dono had ordered the ores.

"Wait... are you planning to imbue that kind of buff magic into this much ore?"

Despite her discontent, there was something odd about her expression.

"Hephaestus-dono, are you trying to drain yourself dry?"

Enchantment magic was notoriously taxing—it transferred a specific magical effect into a material, allowing that object to retain and exhibit that magic.

Having just experienced the buff herself, Tsubaki could clearly tell how extraordinary the magic was from the drastic surge in her 'attributes.'

The mana cost for this kind of magic had to be staggering.

If all the ore polished here were to be imbued with that level of enhancement magic, wouldn't that completely drain the mage?

"...Tsubaki, if you've got nothing useful to say, then keep your mouth shut."

"Yes."

A vein twitched on Hephaestus's forehead. If the one talking wasn't her own Familia's captain, she really might've smacked some sense into her so she'd think before speaking.

Once both of them fell silent, the room quieted down.

"Hephaestus-dono, is the person you're waiting for still not here?"

Tsubaki looked around, confused. Even as the captain of Hephaestus's Familia, she had no idea who Hephaestus-dono had scheduled a meeting with today.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hephaestus."

"!?"

The sudden voice made Tsubaki jump.

She turned her head immediately—less than three meters away, two figures were standing there.

One of them was a child in a hood. He looked like a boy, but with his face hidden, she couldn't tell who he was.

The other was unmistakable—Hestia, who had recently been hired by Hephaestus.

'When did they get here?'

That was her only thought. It was the first time someone had gotten this close to her without her noticing.

"We came straight here. Had to stop by the Guild to sell off the magic stones—it took a bit."

"Bell, didn't I say we could've handled that directly?"

"Goddess-sama, Ogre weapons are fine, but the magic stones are a different story. I go to the Dungeon often. If I don't regularly turn in magic stones at the Guild, someone might get suspicious."

His words were simple, but they showed caution and foresight.

Tsubaki found his voice increasingly familiar. She was certain she'd met this boy before, but he hadn't left a strong impression.

"Bell, the ore is ready. This should be enough, right?"

"Yeah."

Bell crouched down and picked up a red stone. It wasn't even the size of his palm—just about right. Since the enchantment only involved a single Runic character, cheap ore would do.

"This is enough."

"A single-character enhancement spell doesn't need a high-grade carrier."

While even regular stones could serve for such a basic enchantment, since these were being sold, handing out plain rocks wouldn't sit right. At the very least, using actual ore showed some respect to the Adventurers.

Hephaestus gave a slight nod. As long as the carriers were sufficient, it would work.

"The basic enhancement is all that's needed for now."

"How long will it take to finish all of this ore?"

Bell glanced over the pile of ore on the ground and quickly estimated.

"About an hour."

Hephaestus was a bit surprised, but didn't question it.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

"This is my Familia's backyard. I've already made sure no one will come here today. You're free to work as you like."

"Understood."

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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